Sn1p3r187
Carolinian Shaolin Monk
Hmmmmmmm I'm going to guess year 2127 on this one. Just a wild guess. Unless you made a numbers conspiracy I have to see and check everywhere to get the date.Early XXII.
Right enough we can become the eyewitness
After Reset - classic post-apocalyptic role-playing game
- Thread starter MrNixon
- Start date
MrNixon
It Wandered In From the Wastes
Hi guys,
Glad to know you're reading today's monthly report and even happier to bring you the following news: patch, estimated release date, fresh hard sci-fi lore.
PATCH #051716 RELEASED
FIXES:
Mechanics:
• The bug with inventory listing when you put the object from active slot to inventory is fixed.
• Bug when you're unable to drop object on the floor fixed.
• Stacking system amended.
• Items identification bugs fixed.
• Tutorial pages now can be slid correctly.
• Items activation while switching items fixed.
• Saving/Loading date while travelling between levels reworked.
FEATURES & CHANGES:
Gameplay:
• Ivy monodialog [first aid] added.
• Ivy monodialog [recover] added.
• Ivy dialog [warning] added.
• Quanton monodialog [NBC] added.
• Quanton monodialog [firealarm] added.
• Quanton dialog [broken] added.
• Free talk dialog with Ivy as a companion added.
• Tutorial "Character Skills" added.
• Tutorial "Hacking Electronic Devices" added.
• Tutorial "Lockpicking Mechanical Locks" added.
• Tutorial "Item Identification" added.
• Tutorial "Identifying Creatures" added.
• Tutorial "Journal Records" added.
• "What Makes a Terrorist?" Journal Record added to gameplay.
• "Gigantic Red Zones Amoebas" Journal Record added to gameplay.
• "R/K Selection Theory When Applied to the Status of "Survivors" Journal Record added to gameplay.
• "Quanton Hubs" Journal Record added to gameplay.
• "O'Shea's Cooperation Speech" Journal Record added to gameplay.
• "Artificial Intelligence" Journal Record added to gameplay.
Graphics:
• Screen Resolution selection launch screen for MAC version added.
• New Quanton NPC model (broken and fixed) and its VFX added.
Interface:
• Augmentation panel added to Character Menu.
• Need to lock other interactions while in game Main Menu is open.
Mechanics:
• Quantity dialog window when move only one object now does not appear.
• Pop-up text mechanics (Fallout 1/2/T style) for monodialogues and NPC taunts added.
Other:
• Dozens of new items.
• Trash containers authentically added to Special Facility and Science Facility levels.
• Final containers (contents/types/states/descriptions/sounds) for Special Facility level added.
• Final containers (contents/types/states/descriptions/sounds) for Science Facility level added.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. Sorry for delay with the update: it was ready around a week ago but we found the critical bug in the final build - Kaspersky deleted (!) the whole build relying to "suspicious behaviors" when the character travel between levels. We were not able to find out origin of the bug in our scripts for a week; hence, we had to rewrite all save/load system from scratch symbol by symbol. Now it works smoothly.
2. I know, with this huge update, it might look like we "finally" got to development just a couple months ago. Frankly, we joke a lot about within our team ourselves. But the case is the major work was done for that year before – the major work for creating content and engine/constructor fitted to our SACPIC game mechanics. We go right step by step like Bioware did for Neverwinter Nights 1: it took around 3 years of 75 programmers and 45 testers (10 internal, 35 external) as well as 10 million dollars just to create an engine/constructor fitted to DnD 3.5 mechanics, and only after that they get to sewing campaign on it. That was actual in good old 2002. Modern technologies, social support and crowd founding gave us a boost but we still follow the same passage and still face the same issues
3. Mac users, now you can select screen resolutions when launching the game as well as running it in windowed mode. It looks beautiful, but I recommend to use resolution not wider than 1920 for now because current Macs might be lagging running the game on 4k resolution. E.g. I prefer to play in on Mac with 1200 resolution windowed. I know, Mac suffers some visual bugs in Main Menu but we’ll fix that on further updates.
4. You might encounter many dialogues with Ivy in this build, albeit she is represented by painted avatar still. We got her model but I decided it is not as cool as other content of ours. She’s too important (as the companion for the decent part of the game) to be neglected. Freelancer did her model, so now our lead 3d modeler redoes it himself. I’ll present you her "old" version with comparison to "new" one in the next update.
PROLOGUE RELEASE ESTIMATED DATE
One of the most inspiring part of today's news is that, based on our current stage and pace of development, as well as on our current human and financial resources, I recon to complete and delivery the prologue by the end of this summer. I know this is just an estimation, but it is a realistic one.
The game core become more and more sophisticated with every monthly update. It happens very often when amending one bug that we reveal a couple of new ones. The major threat to this plan of release is the human factor (frankly, as it's been the case during the whole development). I'm doing my best to attach a new spare programmer to the development (at least for bug fixing) but if we lose our current programmers that might slow us down again. I'm praying with you that won't happen and we'll go through this coming three months smoothly and release a great product.
Beyond that, if it goes according the plan, we need to look in the future. In the next update, I feel like to share the plans with Co-Founders, coordinate it with them, then (in August) share updated plan with Kisckstarter backers to ask their thought on it. If it run fine again, we'll share the plan with everybody else after release of the prologue by this Fall.
8,000 WISHLIST FANS REACHED ON STEAM
In previous update I posted Steam statistics about 7,000 wish lists collected and how that milestone has inspired us. It looks like my news found some traction within the hearts of our fans that follow the development process. For this month amount of wish lists has increased to 8,200!
Thanks for adding us, guys. This growing number of wish list adds will definitely help us by the release date.
The art above is painted and cordially shared as the illustration by one of our favorite contributor-artists Antony Fedotov who worked on the cover art of Fall of Gyes. This art you see is inspired by New Reno capital of the New Confederacy from After Reset setting
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LORE
At this current stage we’re working hard on Ivy and Quanton characters. Both of these NPCs are virtual intelligences. For several weeks we received a lot of questions from our fan, littleONE, about Artificial & Virtual Intelligence science and its place in the hard sci-fi setting of After Reset.
I decided to prepare some extra lore about that issue and include it into the prologue. You might read about it here or discover it in current build by yourself. But I’d like to show you how the hard sci-fi approach is different from casual "fast-food" approach (e.g. for many, the subject of AI typically resolves into "AI is a threat" or "Kill all humans").
Here you can read a part of an article from a public official from the Human Rights Watch. By 132 A.R. the HRW is one of the Social Corps Departments that monitor and enforce compliance for a ban on AI research and development within the United Governments. I hope, you'll enjoy it:
"Specify the way in which you believe that a man is superior to a computer and I shall build a computer which refutes your belief. Turing’s challenge should not be taken up; for any sufficiently precise specification could be used in principle to program a computer."
Karl Popper, The Self and its Brain
When thinking about Artificial Intelligence and artificial consciousness, our forbearers often began from the premise that there are only two types of data processing: artificial and natural. But, we can now be certain that this premise was mistaken.
The conceptual difference between artificial and natural systems was never definitive nor exhaustive. For a long time before the dawn of modern synthetic biology, long before the Reset, we already had intelligent and conscious systems, that could not have been said to belong to either of these two categories. As for the other outmoded division between hardware and software, once again, in the Past Age, we had biological systems that could be controlled by artificial (anthropogenic) software, while at the same time, there also existed artificial devices controlled by programs that arose all on their own (via evolution).
But, having touched on issues of integrated biological neuron networks and non-biological machines as a type of "accelerated evolution," we are already reaching the problem of the Ethics of Consciousness. Here it is worth noting that we still do not have a functional theory to explain consciousness but, if we did, there would be no guarantee that it would apply equally to Artificial Intelligence in non-biological carrier.
Before research in the field of Artificial Intelligence was made illegal, and Evolutionary Robotechnology studies were limited, more than a century before the Reset, we had already begun to create the first self-modeling and self-cognizing robots. The most obvious example is the "starfish" made by Josh Bongard, Viktor Zykov, and Hod Lipson. Over the course of their existence, these robots gradually developed an internal model of themselves, a model of the surrounding world, and a model of their places in it. These four-legged robots made use of these models to perform cognitive functions and interact with the world around them. When some legs were removed from one of these "starfish," it began to adapt its model to the new conditions, working out new approaches. In concrete terms, they learned to limp. Differently from human patients with Phantom Limb Syndrome, these robots were able to restructure their concept of their own body after losing limbs. These "starfish" were not only able to synthesize a personal model of the Self, but also use it to give rise to intelligent behavior. Of course, these first models of the Self were unconscious, but as many readers remember, they were successfully used to help making the first computer models of human evolution.
The breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence research that followed was also correlated with breakthroughs in human neuropsychology. Before that, neuropsychology defined three things as the basis of consciousness as we know it: an integrated model of the surrounding world with feedback, which can be accessed by all parts of the mind; living through this model in the "here and now;" and the fact that the artificiality of this model of the world and the "here and now" are hidden from the conscious mind. These very factors were applied to humans as well: we have a virtual model of the world (though it may be inaccurate, limited, and contain delays and distortions), we have virtual model of us as the organisms (remember Phantom Limb Syndrome above), we can "feel" as we live in the "present" moment where we are and, from the beginning of our lives (and for some, for their whole lives) we do not recognize the artificial nature of these structures.
However, what our forbearers, the creators of the "starfish," did not consider - was the presence of a fourth, connecting factor, that allows the trespassing the border from Virtual Intelligence to Artificial Intelligence: the simultaneous detachment and backward integration of models of the Self into an already-formed virtual picture of the world leads to begins to recognizing/cognizing itself. It becomes the Ego and a naive realist regarding everything its model of the Self does claim about. Such an Artificial Intelligence would believe (!) in itself.
THE ETHICS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
One of the first questions I get from schoolchildren at the beginning of my Conceptual Robotechnics course is, "If we can make Artificial Intelligence, why don’t we? And why does the government forbid all research this field?"
I am reminded of our conclusions in the previous chapter: backward integration of a model of the Self in virtual form into the world "here and now" will allow these systems to see themselves in this world, and in this place and time. The system begins to recognize/cognize itself. And that change turns this artificial system into an object of moral agency: it now becomes potentially capable of suffering. Pain, fear, negative emotions and other internal conditions, which reflect part of reality as "undesirable" can serve as reasons for suffering only if they are realized. A system that is not revealed to itself (for example, our modern Virtual Intellect systems) cannot suffer, in that it is deprived of a sense of ownership. These systems are like rooms, in which a light is turned on, but no one is home. They cannot be objects of ethical consideration a priori. If such a system has a conscious model of the world (even if it is more accurate and full than a human’s), but no model of the Self, then we can pull the plug at any moment with our minds at ease.
But Artificial Intelligence is capable of suffering, because it integrates pain signals, the condition of emotional distress or negative thoughts in its transparent model of the Self, and they are declared not an abstraction, but someone’s (!) pain or negative feelings.
Here let us make a thought experiment that is a brilliant illustration of the potential moral issues of experimenting with Artificial Intelligence like this. Imagine that you are a member of an SOC ethics committee considering whether to award a science grant to a medical research project.
The author of the project says: "We want to use genetic technology to propagate mentally disabled children. For the study, we need children with certain intellectual defects, emotional insufficiencies and perception deficits. This is an important innovative research strategy, which requires controlled and reproducible research on the mental development of mentally disabled children after birth. This is important not only to further our understanding how our own brain works, but also has a huge potential for curing several mental illnesses. That is why we need the funding immediately. Do the right thing!"
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you find this idea not only absurd, but also dangerous. One could confidently suppose that such a proposal would not be approved by any ethics committee in this world.
Albeit, the first generation of Artificial Intelligence, or artificial consciousness, unlikely will find defenders in ethics committees just like the one described above. The first generation of machines that satisfy the minimum sufficient set of conditions for present living and self-consciousness would find themselves in a situation similar to that of the genetically engineered mentally handicapped human children. And just like those babies, the first Artificial Intelligences will unavoidably have all types of functional, cognitive and presentational dysfunctions, regardless of the fact that they may have been conditioned to have them by errors in the experimental design. It is completely possible that their perception systems: artificial eyes, ears, etc., won’t work very well at first. They will be half-deaf, half-blind and will have to struggle with potential difficulties in perception of the world and their own places in it. Together with that, having a self-consciousness, they will be capable of suffering.
If their model of the Self is rooted in low-level self-regulation mechanisms in its hardware (i.e., just like our own emotional model of the Self is rooted in the upper brainstem and hypothalamus), then they will consciously live all the pain and emotions. It will be painful for them to go through losing homeostatic control because they have a built-in perception of their own existence. They would have personal interests and, as such, would subjectively live that fact. They would be able to suffer emotionally in a way that is qualitatively different from us in form and intensity, that we, its creators, would be powerless to even imagine.
All the same, the fact is that the first generation of such Artificial Intelligences, will probably have a great many negative emotions, brought about by self-regulation failures due to hardware and software defects. These negative emotions will be recognized and intensely felt by the Artificial Intelligences themselves but, most likely, we will not be able to understand or even discern that they are present.
Let’s try to continue our thought experiment… Imagine that the next generation of Artificial Intelligences, which would be more developed, begin to attach more complex cognitive characteristics to their model of the Self. In this case, they can already conceptually understand not only the quaintness of their existence as simply objects of scientific interest, but they will also be able to suffer intellectually from recognizing their own "inferiority." Further generations of such Artificial Intelligences will be able to fully recognize themselves as second-rate, though also intelligent beings, used as disposable experimental subjects. Just think what it must be like to “wake up” a developed artificial being, which, despite having a firm sense of identity and a personality that experiences itself, is nothing more than a mass-produced product.
This story of Artificial Intelligence, of a being artificially endowed with self-consciousness, but without human or civil rights, or any kind of societal lobby, is an excellent demonstration of how connected the ability to suffer is with consciousness itself. It also is a principled argument for the unacceptability of creating Artificial Intelligence for the purpose of academic research. We should not increase the total amount of suffering in the universe without necessity. And creating Artificial Intelligence systems would be doing just that from the very outset...
Roger Simmons,
Social Corps Department of Human Rights Watch.
* * *
That is all for today. Getting back to the development.
Thanks, guys, for rooting for us and for your outstanding patience!
See you in a month, or daily on our forum and Steam.
Add us on Steam Early Access.
Visit After Reset RPG official Store.
Join After Reset RPG official website.
Glad to know you're reading today's monthly report and even happier to bring you the following news: patch, estimated release date, fresh hard sci-fi lore.
PATCH #051716 RELEASED
FIXES:
Mechanics:
• The bug with inventory listing when you put the object from active slot to inventory is fixed.
• Bug when you're unable to drop object on the floor fixed.
• Stacking system amended.
• Items identification bugs fixed.
• Tutorial pages now can be slid correctly.
• Items activation while switching items fixed.
• Saving/Loading date while travelling between levels reworked.
FEATURES & CHANGES:
Gameplay:
• Ivy monodialog [first aid] added.
• Ivy monodialog [recover] added.
• Ivy dialog [warning] added.
• Quanton monodialog [NBC] added.
• Quanton monodialog [firealarm] added.
• Quanton dialog [broken] added.
• Free talk dialog with Ivy as a companion added.
• Tutorial "Character Skills" added.
• Tutorial "Hacking Electronic Devices" added.
• Tutorial "Lockpicking Mechanical Locks" added.
• Tutorial "Item Identification" added.
• Tutorial "Identifying Creatures" added.
• Tutorial "Journal Records" added.
• "What Makes a Terrorist?" Journal Record added to gameplay.
• "Gigantic Red Zones Amoebas" Journal Record added to gameplay.
• "R/K Selection Theory When Applied to the Status of "Survivors" Journal Record added to gameplay.
• "Quanton Hubs" Journal Record added to gameplay.
• "O'Shea's Cooperation Speech" Journal Record added to gameplay.
• "Artificial Intelligence" Journal Record added to gameplay.
Graphics:
• Screen Resolution selection launch screen for MAC version added.
• New Quanton NPC model (broken and fixed) and its VFX added.
Interface:
• Augmentation panel added to Character Menu.
• Need to lock other interactions while in game Main Menu is open.
Mechanics:
• Quantity dialog window when move only one object now does not appear.
• Pop-up text mechanics (Fallout 1/2/T style) for monodialogues and NPC taunts added.
Other:
• Dozens of new items.
• Trash containers authentically added to Special Facility and Science Facility levels.
• Final containers (contents/types/states/descriptions/sounds) for Special Facility level added.
• Final containers (contents/types/states/descriptions/sounds) for Science Facility level added.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. Sorry for delay with the update: it was ready around a week ago but we found the critical bug in the final build - Kaspersky deleted (!) the whole build relying to "suspicious behaviors" when the character travel between levels. We were not able to find out origin of the bug in our scripts for a week; hence, we had to rewrite all save/load system from scratch symbol by symbol. Now it works smoothly.
2. I know, with this huge update, it might look like we "finally" got to development just a couple months ago. Frankly, we joke a lot about within our team ourselves. But the case is the major work was done for that year before – the major work for creating content and engine/constructor fitted to our SACPIC game mechanics. We go right step by step like Bioware did for Neverwinter Nights 1: it took around 3 years of 75 programmers and 45 testers (10 internal, 35 external) as well as 10 million dollars just to create an engine/constructor fitted to DnD 3.5 mechanics, and only after that they get to sewing campaign on it. That was actual in good old 2002. Modern technologies, social support and crowd founding gave us a boost but we still follow the same passage and still face the same issues
3. Mac users, now you can select screen resolutions when launching the game as well as running it in windowed mode. It looks beautiful, but I recommend to use resolution not wider than 1920 for now because current Macs might be lagging running the game on 4k resolution. E.g. I prefer to play in on Mac with 1200 resolution windowed. I know, Mac suffers some visual bugs in Main Menu but we’ll fix that on further updates.
4. You might encounter many dialogues with Ivy in this build, albeit she is represented by painted avatar still. We got her model but I decided it is not as cool as other content of ours. She’s too important (as the companion for the decent part of the game) to be neglected. Freelancer did her model, so now our lead 3d modeler redoes it himself. I’ll present you her "old" version with comparison to "new" one in the next update.
PROLOGUE RELEASE ESTIMATED DATE
One of the most inspiring part of today's news is that, based on our current stage and pace of development, as well as on our current human and financial resources, I recon to complete and delivery the prologue by the end of this summer. I know this is just an estimation, but it is a realistic one.
The game core become more and more sophisticated with every monthly update. It happens very often when amending one bug that we reveal a couple of new ones. The major threat to this plan of release is the human factor (frankly, as it's been the case during the whole development). I'm doing my best to attach a new spare programmer to the development (at least for bug fixing) but if we lose our current programmers that might slow us down again. I'm praying with you that won't happen and we'll go through this coming three months smoothly and release a great product.
Beyond that, if it goes according the plan, we need to look in the future. In the next update, I feel like to share the plans with Co-Founders, coordinate it with them, then (in August) share updated plan with Kisckstarter backers to ask their thought on it. If it run fine again, we'll share the plan with everybody else after release of the prologue by this Fall.
8,000 WISHLIST FANS REACHED ON STEAM
In previous update I posted Steam statistics about 7,000 wish lists collected and how that milestone has inspired us. It looks like my news found some traction within the hearts of our fans that follow the development process. For this month amount of wish lists has increased to 8,200!
Thanks for adding us, guys. This growing number of wish list adds will definitely help us by the release date.
The art above is painted and cordially shared as the illustration by one of our favorite contributor-artists Antony Fedotov who worked on the cover art of Fall of Gyes. This art you see is inspired by New Reno capital of the New Confederacy from After Reset setting
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LORE
At this current stage we’re working hard on Ivy and Quanton characters. Both of these NPCs are virtual intelligences. For several weeks we received a lot of questions from our fan, littleONE, about Artificial & Virtual Intelligence science and its place in the hard sci-fi setting of After Reset.
I decided to prepare some extra lore about that issue and include it into the prologue. You might read about it here or discover it in current build by yourself. But I’d like to show you how the hard sci-fi approach is different from casual "fast-food" approach (e.g. for many, the subject of AI typically resolves into "AI is a threat" or "Kill all humans").
Here you can read a part of an article from a public official from the Human Rights Watch. By 132 A.R. the HRW is one of the Social Corps Departments that monitor and enforce compliance for a ban on AI research and development within the United Governments. I hope, you'll enjoy it:
"Specify the way in which you believe that a man is superior to a computer and I shall build a computer which refutes your belief. Turing’s challenge should not be taken up; for any sufficiently precise specification could be used in principle to program a computer."
Karl Popper, The Self and its Brain
When thinking about Artificial Intelligence and artificial consciousness, our forbearers often began from the premise that there are only two types of data processing: artificial and natural. But, we can now be certain that this premise was mistaken.
The conceptual difference between artificial and natural systems was never definitive nor exhaustive. For a long time before the dawn of modern synthetic biology, long before the Reset, we already had intelligent and conscious systems, that could not have been said to belong to either of these two categories. As for the other outmoded division between hardware and software, once again, in the Past Age, we had biological systems that could be controlled by artificial (anthropogenic) software, while at the same time, there also existed artificial devices controlled by programs that arose all on their own (via evolution).
But, having touched on issues of integrated biological neuron networks and non-biological machines as a type of "accelerated evolution," we are already reaching the problem of the Ethics of Consciousness. Here it is worth noting that we still do not have a functional theory to explain consciousness but, if we did, there would be no guarantee that it would apply equally to Artificial Intelligence in non-biological carrier.
Before research in the field of Artificial Intelligence was made illegal, and Evolutionary Robotechnology studies were limited, more than a century before the Reset, we had already begun to create the first self-modeling and self-cognizing robots. The most obvious example is the "starfish" made by Josh Bongard, Viktor Zykov, and Hod Lipson. Over the course of their existence, these robots gradually developed an internal model of themselves, a model of the surrounding world, and a model of their places in it. These four-legged robots made use of these models to perform cognitive functions and interact with the world around them. When some legs were removed from one of these "starfish," it began to adapt its model to the new conditions, working out new approaches. In concrete terms, they learned to limp. Differently from human patients with Phantom Limb Syndrome, these robots were able to restructure their concept of their own body after losing limbs. These "starfish" were not only able to synthesize a personal model of the Self, but also use it to give rise to intelligent behavior. Of course, these first models of the Self were unconscious, but as many readers remember, they were successfully used to help making the first computer models of human evolution.
The breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence research that followed was also correlated with breakthroughs in human neuropsychology. Before that, neuropsychology defined three things as the basis of consciousness as we know it: an integrated model of the surrounding world with feedback, which can be accessed by all parts of the mind; living through this model in the "here and now;" and the fact that the artificiality of this model of the world and the "here and now" are hidden from the conscious mind. These very factors were applied to humans as well: we have a virtual model of the world (though it may be inaccurate, limited, and contain delays and distortions), we have virtual model of us as the organisms (remember Phantom Limb Syndrome above), we can "feel" as we live in the "present" moment where we are and, from the beginning of our lives (and for some, for their whole lives) we do not recognize the artificial nature of these structures.
However, what our forbearers, the creators of the "starfish," did not consider - was the presence of a fourth, connecting factor, that allows the trespassing the border from Virtual Intelligence to Artificial Intelligence: the simultaneous detachment and backward integration of models of the Self into an already-formed virtual picture of the world leads to begins to recognizing/cognizing itself. It becomes the Ego and a naive realist regarding everything its model of the Self does claim about. Such an Artificial Intelligence would believe (!) in itself.
THE ETHICS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
One of the first questions I get from schoolchildren at the beginning of my Conceptual Robotechnics course is, "If we can make Artificial Intelligence, why don’t we? And why does the government forbid all research this field?"
I am reminded of our conclusions in the previous chapter: backward integration of a model of the Self in virtual form into the world "here and now" will allow these systems to see themselves in this world, and in this place and time. The system begins to recognize/cognize itself. And that change turns this artificial system into an object of moral agency: it now becomes potentially capable of suffering. Pain, fear, negative emotions and other internal conditions, which reflect part of reality as "undesirable" can serve as reasons for suffering only if they are realized. A system that is not revealed to itself (for example, our modern Virtual Intellect systems) cannot suffer, in that it is deprived of a sense of ownership. These systems are like rooms, in which a light is turned on, but no one is home. They cannot be objects of ethical consideration a priori. If such a system has a conscious model of the world (even if it is more accurate and full than a human’s), but no model of the Self, then we can pull the plug at any moment with our minds at ease.
But Artificial Intelligence is capable of suffering, because it integrates pain signals, the condition of emotional distress or negative thoughts in its transparent model of the Self, and they are declared not an abstraction, but someone’s (!) pain or negative feelings.
Here let us make a thought experiment that is a brilliant illustration of the potential moral issues of experimenting with Artificial Intelligence like this. Imagine that you are a member of an SOC ethics committee considering whether to award a science grant to a medical research project.
The author of the project says: "We want to use genetic technology to propagate mentally disabled children. For the study, we need children with certain intellectual defects, emotional insufficiencies and perception deficits. This is an important innovative research strategy, which requires controlled and reproducible research on the mental development of mentally disabled children after birth. This is important not only to further our understanding how our own brain works, but also has a huge potential for curing several mental illnesses. That is why we need the funding immediately. Do the right thing!"
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you find this idea not only absurd, but also dangerous. One could confidently suppose that such a proposal would not be approved by any ethics committee in this world.
Albeit, the first generation of Artificial Intelligence, or artificial consciousness, unlikely will find defenders in ethics committees just like the one described above. The first generation of machines that satisfy the minimum sufficient set of conditions for present living and self-consciousness would find themselves in a situation similar to that of the genetically engineered mentally handicapped human children. And just like those babies, the first Artificial Intelligences will unavoidably have all types of functional, cognitive and presentational dysfunctions, regardless of the fact that they may have been conditioned to have them by errors in the experimental design. It is completely possible that their perception systems: artificial eyes, ears, etc., won’t work very well at first. They will be half-deaf, half-blind and will have to struggle with potential difficulties in perception of the world and their own places in it. Together with that, having a self-consciousness, they will be capable of suffering.
If their model of the Self is rooted in low-level self-regulation mechanisms in its hardware (i.e., just like our own emotional model of the Self is rooted in the upper brainstem and hypothalamus), then they will consciously live all the pain and emotions. It will be painful for them to go through losing homeostatic control because they have a built-in perception of their own existence. They would have personal interests and, as such, would subjectively live that fact. They would be able to suffer emotionally in a way that is qualitatively different from us in form and intensity, that we, its creators, would be powerless to even imagine.
All the same, the fact is that the first generation of such Artificial Intelligences, will probably have a great many negative emotions, brought about by self-regulation failures due to hardware and software defects. These negative emotions will be recognized and intensely felt by the Artificial Intelligences themselves but, most likely, we will not be able to understand or even discern that they are present.
Let’s try to continue our thought experiment… Imagine that the next generation of Artificial Intelligences, which would be more developed, begin to attach more complex cognitive characteristics to their model of the Self. In this case, they can already conceptually understand not only the quaintness of their existence as simply objects of scientific interest, but they will also be able to suffer intellectually from recognizing their own "inferiority." Further generations of such Artificial Intelligences will be able to fully recognize themselves as second-rate, though also intelligent beings, used as disposable experimental subjects. Just think what it must be like to “wake up” a developed artificial being, which, despite having a firm sense of identity and a personality that experiences itself, is nothing more than a mass-produced product.
This story of Artificial Intelligence, of a being artificially endowed with self-consciousness, but without human or civil rights, or any kind of societal lobby, is an excellent demonstration of how connected the ability to suffer is with consciousness itself. It also is a principled argument for the unacceptability of creating Artificial Intelligence for the purpose of academic research. We should not increase the total amount of suffering in the universe without necessity. And creating Artificial Intelligence systems would be doing just that from the very outset...
Roger Simmons,
Social Corps Department of Human Rights Watch.
* * *
That is all for today. Getting back to the development.
Thanks, guys, for rooting for us and for your outstanding patience!
See you in a month, or daily on our forum and Steam.
Add us on Steam Early Access.
Visit After Reset RPG official Store.
Join After Reset RPG official website.
MrNixon
It Wandered In From the Wastes
Hi, guys!
I’m glad to announce another monthly report for you with a bunch of good news as always. From this update you can familiarize with the patch notes, Ivy retrospective development, fresh money & issues report for our Co-Founders, an offer for you to get your own Co-Founder status from SEA, receive a free copy of the TFoG game on Steam, listen to a new OST music track “Raider’s Camp,” and check out some new lore representing the new faction.
Just open up a cold bear or a Coke and enjoy the update!
PATCH #073116 RELEASED
FIXES:
Audio:
• Missed Narrator voice sounds added.
• Volumes for 3d sounds and speech amended.
• Not ceasing voiceover in dialogs while the dialog is closed or another line is played, or when quieting to main menu - fixed.
Gameplay:
• ASWD bug fixed.
• Typos in Records fixed.
• Skills and stats checks in dialogs fixed.
• Awakening cut-scene reworked and enhanced.
Graphics:
• All female clothes (neck bug) reskinned and reboned.
• Low quality character and NPC camera with pixel border in dialogs to fixed the cinematic smoothness.
Interface:
• Text blinking in dialogs fixed.
• Red coloring of the character model in Character menu fixed.
• Main Menu button corruption after traveling between levels amended.
• Tag panel fixed.
• Mouse absence during the first dialog fixed.
• Overlay picture for PAUSE deleted.
• Ivy's icon blur after interaction fixed.
Mechanics:
• Saving/loading bug of dropped loot and trash fixed.
• Bug with several items multiplying on floor when traveling between levels fixed.
• Drone position bias after level reloading fixed.
• Death mechanics and its visual and audio assets fixed.
• Area transaction script and visuals amended.
FEATURES & CHANGES:
Audio:
• Final recordings and post-processing for Keren Goston dialogs are done.
• VFX sounds for drones created and embedded.
• Looped heart beat sound added for the character when he's in dying state.
Gameplay:
• Drone’s animations added.
• Drone’s activation quest added.
• Drone’s dialog (activation) added.
• Drone’s dialog (deactivation) added.
• Ivy’s dialog (drone) added.
• Quanton dialog (repaired) added.
• Quanton repairing cut scenes added.
• Quanton repairing challenging puzzle added.
• Lab drone hive/cloud mind added.
• In-game access to all 22 Records for the prologue added.
Graphics:
• Gameplay camera settings polished to the ideal 3d pseudo-isometric view.
• Special Facility graphics optimized and freed resources used for graphic quality boost.
• Science Facility graphics optimized and freed resources headed for graphic quality boost.
Interface:
• Dialog's answers display enhanced (numbers and "/* styles added).
• Now any GUI (highlighting, tagging, etc) do properly disable VFX during cut scenes and dialogues.
• New Quest and new Records notification icons added as clickable to let them open relevant panels respectively.
Mechanics:
• Drones AI added.
• Followers mechanics added so that PC’s followers can travel with him/her through the levels and areas.
Other:
• Sparkles added to Quanton's servers.
• Colors for repaired Quanton changed.
• More environmental assets set at Ground Level.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
#1 Thanks for your bug reports, guys! We really appreciate them, but it’s become quite time consuming to slog through them all in our e-mail. We’ve come up with a better method to make this process more organized, and you can now upload your reports to a new sub-form we’ve created on STEAM, which you can access here: LINK
#2 Along with the Quanton’s servers, quests, dialogs, models, VFX, cut scenes, and other gameplay, we have finally completed the Science Facility level as it was meant to be. Through the prologue players should become comfortable with the specific (and quite frankly old school-ish) methods of storytelling and gameplay we plan to use in the rest of After Reset RPG.
One of these core features is very non-linear gameplay, and in regard to the Quanton Hub, it is completely up to players to decide what to do with it. Doing nothing is, of course, an option. I’d like all of you guys (while playing AR RPG) to really immerse yourself into its world and roleplay your character. Relying on the statistics of human behavior, game theory, and my D&D DM experience, I encourage you to behave like your character would in the real world—or even roleplay yourself. There’s consequences (positive and negative) for just about everything in the game. So aside from testing, please, don’t rush into decisions just because the option is there.
#3 There is one cut-scene left to be programmed into the Special Facility level in order to complete it. Except for that, nothing else should change as far as the level goes, right up to the release of the prologue.
#4 Our third level (the huge one – Ground Level) does not need to be tested yet, but feel free to explore it so you can see how things change with each update.
#5 One of the most important things in today’s update is the final representation of the dialog mechanics and its GUI. Please, feel free to share your impression and thoughts about it.
IVY REPRESENTATION
In this update, I am proud to finally present Ivy to you now with most of her dialogs and quests working. If you’ve been following the development since the Kickstarter you already know who and what this companion is. But for those of you who don’t, here’s a bit of lore (no spoilers): LINK.
There are many reasons why it took so long to properly implement her into the game, and I’ll show you a few of them. Below you can see her concept:
An example of the terrible model we initially got from freelancers:
I just could not to put That creature in the game. Rebuilding her took two months, and here you can see the highpoly version of her we did 3 weeks ago:
Unfortunately, the low poly count of the head as well as the textures turned out to be bad:
And we had to rework the head completely to get the final highpoly variant you can see below (texturing is in progress). Now I can empathize this girl and would be be pleased to see that face through the whole game:
Albeit, I hesitate what haircut for the prologue status of Ivy to choose. We need your help to made our minds about it. Please, let us know which haircut style for her you'd prefer:
EARLY REPORT FOR CO-FOUNDERS: MONEY, WORKS, PLANS
In addition to this update, I’ve posted a closed early report for our Co-Founders: LINK.
It contains screens from our project boards as well as several personal boards of the team members; financial report; plans for the future development (the game is not limited to the prologue, After Reset’s development is about more than one game).
If you’re a Co-Founder, please, feel free to check that early report and share your thoughts.
For our other Kickstarter backers I’m going to share that report a couple weeks before the prologue release in a closed update. Everyone else will be able to see this report after the release.
CO-FOUNDER STATUSES FOR SEA PURCHASERS
I posted in previous updates our thanks and my personal kudos to those several hundred gamers who purchased our game on Steam Early Access and rooted us regardless of its very early stage of development. I promised to find some way to show our gratitude.
So, I’d like to provide you with Co-Founder statuses, guys, so that you will have access to all the extra content on our forum and to be the first to view our reports. This isn’t just a marketing ploy; it’s our way of saying thanks. If you purchased SEA by the fourth of July or earlier, feel free to write me on Steam to claim your Co-Founder status for your website account on our forum.
Once again, thanks. Your contributions have become immortalized in our game, part of its models, textures, sounds, setting, quests, animations, etc.
TFOG GAME GIVEAWAYS FOR BACKERS
In previous updates I also wrote about my willingness to include the TFoG game for free as a DLC graphic novel for those of you who already purchased or backed After Reset RPG. Even though we still can’t solve that issue just by putting whole TFoG game (1Gb+) into our Steam DLC folder, I’ve got another option:
If you have TFoG as a reward for your tier on our Kickstarter AR RPG campaign, or if you purchased that TFoG DLC on Steam, please write me by e-mail (in case of KS reward) or buzz me through Steam and I’ll just send you a FREE key to the Fall of Gyes game on Steam.
ADDING TO THE OST
Development of the game is not ceasing after the Prologue completion. I’ve already created the script, primary characters, gameplan, maps and quests drafts for Chapter 1. As the location of the chapter will take place on territories belonging to the Indian Alliance and Nomads, in this update I am proud to announce a marvelous new music track that has been added to our official OST called: “Raider’s Camp.”
If you got and activated our OST DLC preorder it has been automatically updated with this news released. Please, check your ...SteamApps\common\After Reset RPG\add-ons folder.
If you didn’t get our OST DLC preordered through the Kickstarter campaign or by early direct pledges, you need to wait till we release it officially or some other special event. Still, you can enjoy the following lore from After Reset game and setting right now.
LORE: NOMADS
*The photo above provided by Dimitri Zaitsev, a talented costume designer from nuclear-snail.com.
“Raider’s Camp” – that is the name for the new music track we’ve added to our OST, but I hesitated a lot in the naming of it because of our hard sci-fi concept. The setting forced me to use a “Nomad” world. Indeed, have you ever thought why in post-apoc movies and games “raiders” call themselves “raiders?” I imply that it is quite normal for other peaceful people call someone who gangs them – “Raider!” But it turns to comedy when I try to imagine such brutal persons calling each other – “Sup, raidies!” or “Dear, comrade raiders!” If you feel the same way, this After Reset lore is for you:
Nomads:
Nomads, sometimes called Raiders by the native population, are any group of Survivors (descendants of the people who were lucky enough to survive the Reset but unlucky enough to survive it above the surface) who constantly stay on the move.
During the first decades after the Reset, the time called both by the Survivors and Natives as the Hurricane Days, the last human cities above the surface vanished and the evidence of human civilization perished. Following Dunbar’s Rule that is soldered into human nature, the descendants of people (above surface) survived by gathering into small groups of less than eighty people. As the Yellow zones (relatively well accommodated for life) were too rare that time, these people adopted a migratory lifestyle.
Due to all culture, material knowledge of the Past Age was lost and most of the flora and fauna were critically damaged. So, the new civilization had to start over from the beginning: hunting, gathering, raiding and pasture (this way of life spread after 80s A.R.). Lack of human impact on nature allowed it to evolve and take revenge on virtually every biosphere from plankton to mammals.
One way or another, by 100 A.R. a new civilization of Survivors emerged though they were still separated into groups of Nomads, usually consisted of several dozens of people, constantly moving within Yellow zones, practicing Social Darwinism within trading with other groups or fighting over scarce resources.
For these people, their way of life is dominated by aggressive raiding, plundering, murder, or even cannibalism in some extreme cases. To other Survivors they are simply known as “Raiders.” It is important to mention, that raiding and marauding were more or less practiced by all Nomads; thus such classification is highly nominal: e.g. for an average group of Nomads, who were attacked or ransomed by larger group, these attackers would be called Raiders (by the Nomads).
Second, a conditional sub-group might be distinguished as Pastors, for which hunting on massive clouds of animals (primary, cloven-hoofed types but that depends on the region) makes up their primary occupation. Later, after 80s A.R, pasturing became the dominant means of survival for most Nomad cultures. Their migratory patterns tend to mirror those of the animals they hunt. For those who remain focused on raiding and plundering, they still actively hunt and gather but their strategies adapt very quickly to changing circumstances. Generally, they just follow their instincts.
Finally, there are the Craftsmen. These nomadic people survive through manufacturing and trade, focusing more on re-engineering past tech and trial-and-error methods to procure basic technology. Such groups of Craftsmen frequently cart their goods in wagons and are a prime target for other Nomads with whom they are not at peace. This category of Nomads was formed much later than the first two, but also had the fastest social development of any Nomad culture after 100 A.R., and it quickly became the dominant foundation for establishing sedentary settlements.
This usually happened whenever the Nomad population (of a particular group) reached Dunbar’s Threshold or when larger groups absorbed smaller ones too frequently. These excess forces quickly became militias that guarded the agricultural and livestock base of the settlement.
* * *
Well, guys, thanks for your support, patience and rooting for us over our long journey.
Your support is the wind in our development sails. Now, let’s focus on the last leg of development!
Add us on Steam Early Access.
Visit After Reset RPG official Store.
Join After Reset RPG official website.
I’m glad to announce another monthly report for you with a bunch of good news as always. From this update you can familiarize with the patch notes, Ivy retrospective development, fresh money & issues report for our Co-Founders, an offer for you to get your own Co-Founder status from SEA, receive a free copy of the TFoG game on Steam, listen to a new OST music track “Raider’s Camp,” and check out some new lore representing the new faction.
Just open up a cold bear or a Coke and enjoy the update!
PATCH #073116 RELEASED
FIXES:
Audio:
• Missed Narrator voice sounds added.
• Volumes for 3d sounds and speech amended.
• Not ceasing voiceover in dialogs while the dialog is closed or another line is played, or when quieting to main menu - fixed.
Gameplay:
• ASWD bug fixed.
• Typos in Records fixed.
• Skills and stats checks in dialogs fixed.
• Awakening cut-scene reworked and enhanced.
Graphics:
• All female clothes (neck bug) reskinned and reboned.
• Low quality character and NPC camera with pixel border in dialogs to fixed the cinematic smoothness.
Interface:
• Text blinking in dialogs fixed.
• Red coloring of the character model in Character menu fixed.
• Main Menu button corruption after traveling between levels amended.
• Tag panel fixed.
• Mouse absence during the first dialog fixed.
• Overlay picture for PAUSE deleted.
• Ivy's icon blur after interaction fixed.
Mechanics:
• Saving/loading bug of dropped loot and trash fixed.
• Bug with several items multiplying on floor when traveling between levels fixed.
• Drone position bias after level reloading fixed.
• Death mechanics and its visual and audio assets fixed.
• Area transaction script and visuals amended.
FEATURES & CHANGES:
Audio:
• Final recordings and post-processing for Keren Goston dialogs are done.
• VFX sounds for drones created and embedded.
• Looped heart beat sound added for the character when he's in dying state.
Gameplay:
• Drone’s animations added.
• Drone’s activation quest added.
• Drone’s dialog (activation) added.
• Drone’s dialog (deactivation) added.
• Ivy’s dialog (drone) added.
• Quanton dialog (repaired) added.
• Quanton repairing cut scenes added.
• Quanton repairing challenging puzzle added.
• Lab drone hive/cloud mind added.
• In-game access to all 22 Records for the prologue added.
Graphics:
• Gameplay camera settings polished to the ideal 3d pseudo-isometric view.
• Special Facility graphics optimized and freed resources used for graphic quality boost.
• Science Facility graphics optimized and freed resources headed for graphic quality boost.
Interface:
• Dialog's answers display enhanced (numbers and "/* styles added).
• Now any GUI (highlighting, tagging, etc) do properly disable VFX during cut scenes and dialogues.
• New Quest and new Records notification icons added as clickable to let them open relevant panels respectively.
Mechanics:
• Drones AI added.
• Followers mechanics added so that PC’s followers can travel with him/her through the levels and areas.
Other:
• Sparkles added to Quanton's servers.
• Colors for repaired Quanton changed.
• More environmental assets set at Ground Level.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
#1 Thanks for your bug reports, guys! We really appreciate them, but it’s become quite time consuming to slog through them all in our e-mail. We’ve come up with a better method to make this process more organized, and you can now upload your reports to a new sub-form we’ve created on STEAM, which you can access here: LINK
#2 Along with the Quanton’s servers, quests, dialogs, models, VFX, cut scenes, and other gameplay, we have finally completed the Science Facility level as it was meant to be. Through the prologue players should become comfortable with the specific (and quite frankly old school-ish) methods of storytelling and gameplay we plan to use in the rest of After Reset RPG.
One of these core features is very non-linear gameplay, and in regard to the Quanton Hub, it is completely up to players to decide what to do with it. Doing nothing is, of course, an option. I’d like all of you guys (while playing AR RPG) to really immerse yourself into its world and roleplay your character. Relying on the statistics of human behavior, game theory, and my D&D DM experience, I encourage you to behave like your character would in the real world—or even roleplay yourself. There’s consequences (positive and negative) for just about everything in the game. So aside from testing, please, don’t rush into decisions just because the option is there.
#3 There is one cut-scene left to be programmed into the Special Facility level in order to complete it. Except for that, nothing else should change as far as the level goes, right up to the release of the prologue.
#4 Our third level (the huge one – Ground Level) does not need to be tested yet, but feel free to explore it so you can see how things change with each update.
#5 One of the most important things in today’s update is the final representation of the dialog mechanics and its GUI. Please, feel free to share your impression and thoughts about it.
IVY REPRESENTATION
In this update, I am proud to finally present Ivy to you now with most of her dialogs and quests working. If you’ve been following the development since the Kickstarter you already know who and what this companion is. But for those of you who don’t, here’s a bit of lore (no spoilers): LINK.
There are many reasons why it took so long to properly implement her into the game, and I’ll show you a few of them. Below you can see her concept:
An example of the terrible model we initially got from freelancers:
I just could not to put That creature in the game. Rebuilding her took two months, and here you can see the highpoly version of her we did 3 weeks ago:
Unfortunately, the low poly count of the head as well as the textures turned out to be bad:
And we had to rework the head completely to get the final highpoly variant you can see below (texturing is in progress). Now I can empathize this girl and would be be pleased to see that face through the whole game:
Albeit, I hesitate what haircut for the prologue status of Ivy to choose. We need your help to made our minds about it. Please, let us know which haircut style for her you'd prefer:
EARLY REPORT FOR CO-FOUNDERS: MONEY, WORKS, PLANS
In addition to this update, I’ve posted a closed early report for our Co-Founders: LINK.
It contains screens from our project boards as well as several personal boards of the team members; financial report; plans for the future development (the game is not limited to the prologue, After Reset’s development is about more than one game).
If you’re a Co-Founder, please, feel free to check that early report and share your thoughts.
For our other Kickstarter backers I’m going to share that report a couple weeks before the prologue release in a closed update. Everyone else will be able to see this report after the release.
CO-FOUNDER STATUSES FOR SEA PURCHASERS
I posted in previous updates our thanks and my personal kudos to those several hundred gamers who purchased our game on Steam Early Access and rooted us regardless of its very early stage of development. I promised to find some way to show our gratitude.
So, I’d like to provide you with Co-Founder statuses, guys, so that you will have access to all the extra content on our forum and to be the first to view our reports. This isn’t just a marketing ploy; it’s our way of saying thanks. If you purchased SEA by the fourth of July or earlier, feel free to write me on Steam to claim your Co-Founder status for your website account on our forum.
Once again, thanks. Your contributions have become immortalized in our game, part of its models, textures, sounds, setting, quests, animations, etc.
TFOG GAME GIVEAWAYS FOR BACKERS
In previous updates I also wrote about my willingness to include the TFoG game for free as a DLC graphic novel for those of you who already purchased or backed After Reset RPG. Even though we still can’t solve that issue just by putting whole TFoG game (1Gb+) into our Steam DLC folder, I’ve got another option:
If you have TFoG as a reward for your tier on our Kickstarter AR RPG campaign, or if you purchased that TFoG DLC on Steam, please write me by e-mail (in case of KS reward) or buzz me through Steam and I’ll just send you a FREE key to the Fall of Gyes game on Steam.
ADDING TO THE OST
Development of the game is not ceasing after the Prologue completion. I’ve already created the script, primary characters, gameplan, maps and quests drafts for Chapter 1. As the location of the chapter will take place on territories belonging to the Indian Alliance and Nomads, in this update I am proud to announce a marvelous new music track that has been added to our official OST called: “Raider’s Camp.”
If you got and activated our OST DLC preorder it has been automatically updated with this news released. Please, check your ...SteamApps\common\After Reset RPG\add-ons folder.
If you didn’t get our OST DLC preordered through the Kickstarter campaign or by early direct pledges, you need to wait till we release it officially or some other special event. Still, you can enjoy the following lore from After Reset game and setting right now.
LORE: NOMADS
*The photo above provided by Dimitri Zaitsev, a talented costume designer from nuclear-snail.com.
“Raider’s Camp” – that is the name for the new music track we’ve added to our OST, but I hesitated a lot in the naming of it because of our hard sci-fi concept. The setting forced me to use a “Nomad” world. Indeed, have you ever thought why in post-apoc movies and games “raiders” call themselves “raiders?” I imply that it is quite normal for other peaceful people call someone who gangs them – “Raider!” But it turns to comedy when I try to imagine such brutal persons calling each other – “Sup, raidies!” or “Dear, comrade raiders!” If you feel the same way, this After Reset lore is for you:
Nomads:
Nomads, sometimes called Raiders by the native population, are any group of Survivors (descendants of the people who were lucky enough to survive the Reset but unlucky enough to survive it above the surface) who constantly stay on the move.
During the first decades after the Reset, the time called both by the Survivors and Natives as the Hurricane Days, the last human cities above the surface vanished and the evidence of human civilization perished. Following Dunbar’s Rule that is soldered into human nature, the descendants of people (above surface) survived by gathering into small groups of less than eighty people. As the Yellow zones (relatively well accommodated for life) were too rare that time, these people adopted a migratory lifestyle.
Due to all culture, material knowledge of the Past Age was lost and most of the flora and fauna were critically damaged. So, the new civilization had to start over from the beginning: hunting, gathering, raiding and pasture (this way of life spread after 80s A.R.). Lack of human impact on nature allowed it to evolve and take revenge on virtually every biosphere from plankton to mammals.
One way or another, by 100 A.R. a new civilization of Survivors emerged though they were still separated into groups of Nomads, usually consisted of several dozens of people, constantly moving within Yellow zones, practicing Social Darwinism within trading with other groups or fighting over scarce resources.
For these people, their way of life is dominated by aggressive raiding, plundering, murder, or even cannibalism in some extreme cases. To other Survivors they are simply known as “Raiders.” It is important to mention, that raiding and marauding were more or less practiced by all Nomads; thus such classification is highly nominal: e.g. for an average group of Nomads, who were attacked or ransomed by larger group, these attackers would be called Raiders (by the Nomads).
Second, a conditional sub-group might be distinguished as Pastors, for which hunting on massive clouds of animals (primary, cloven-hoofed types but that depends on the region) makes up their primary occupation. Later, after 80s A.R, pasturing became the dominant means of survival for most Nomad cultures. Their migratory patterns tend to mirror those of the animals they hunt. For those who remain focused on raiding and plundering, they still actively hunt and gather but their strategies adapt very quickly to changing circumstances. Generally, they just follow their instincts.
Finally, there are the Craftsmen. These nomadic people survive through manufacturing and trade, focusing more on re-engineering past tech and trial-and-error methods to procure basic technology. Such groups of Craftsmen frequently cart their goods in wagons and are a prime target for other Nomads with whom they are not at peace. This category of Nomads was formed much later than the first two, but also had the fastest social development of any Nomad culture after 100 A.R., and it quickly became the dominant foundation for establishing sedentary settlements.
This usually happened whenever the Nomad population (of a particular group) reached Dunbar’s Threshold or when larger groups absorbed smaller ones too frequently. These excess forces quickly became militias that guarded the agricultural and livestock base of the settlement.
* * *
Well, guys, thanks for your support, patience and rooting for us over our long journey.
Your support is the wind in our development sails. Now, let’s focus on the last leg of development!
Add us on Steam Early Access.
Visit After Reset RPG official Store.
Join After Reset RPG official website.
AskWazzup
Sonny, I Watched the Vault Bein' Built!
If i squint real hard, i think i might find the resemblance.Those pronounced features kind of reminds me of:
MrNixon
It Wandered In From the Wastes
If i squint real hard, i think i might find the resemblance.Those pronounced features kind of reminds me of:
OMG
MrNixon
It Wandered In From the Wastes
Several fresh in-game screenshot of one of holographic advertisements I did you might find at the Mess Hall where military personnel of the Gyes base ate and socialized. As well as their HD arts/textures:
L'eau Vive, still water © AGN Group (in game/ad.):
Crispy Burger, sandwich (c) Inochi Foods (in game/ad.):
Into Corp, apples (c) Inochi Vegetables (in game/ad.):
L'eau Vive, still water © AGN Group (in game/ad.):
Crispy Burger, sandwich (c) Inochi Foods (in game/ad.):
Into Corp, apples (c) Inochi Vegetables (in game/ad.):
Dr Fallout
Centurion
Cool, can't wait for this game. Frankly I'm in no hurry.
MrNixon
It Wandered In From the Wastes
Thanks, Dr Fallout. You can't overestimate the importance of such positive fans' attitude for the indie devs like us.
Dr Fallout
Centurion
Honestly, if you even provide a quarter if what you've promised... I'm sold.Thanks, Dr Fallout. You can't overestimate the importance of such positive fans' attitude for the indie devs like us.
MrNixon
It Wandered In From the Wastes
PATCH #100816 RELEASED
Hi, guys!
This monthly news and update should be the last one before the Prologue release. If you're our backer or Co-Founder, please, read the full version of it on Kickstarter which comprises the usual patch notes and most of the NDA-stuff I’ve shared with Co-Founders on the forum after the previous update.
This NDA material includes:
• Our current state of affairs.
• Money and issues results report.
• Our plan for the prologue release.
• The future of the After Reset development.
• Preview of the article "Developing AR RPG, the Prologue: Debriefing" I’d like to post it after the Prologue release in October.
• Preview of the article "Developing After Reset: Tips, Insights for Indie Devs" another article specified for indie developers. It consists of concise data on the common issues we and our colleagues faced during the development, our conclusion and solutions we applied. Those issues are something that all indie devs must meet and have to deal with at one time or another.
Right after the Co-Founders, I’d like to share all that data with you before it is made open public to receive your feedback, impressions, thoughts and advice (in case you have one) before making another solid step.
PATCH #100816 RELEASED
FIXES:
Audio:
• Not ceasing music during loading new areas scenes bug fixed.
Gameplay:
• The door scripts and mechanics reworked.
• Navemesh at Ground Level fixed.
• Quanton now opens all fields and doors at the emergency exit hall on Special Facility level when the relevant dialog line is reached.
• Quanton cut-scene variables saving bug fixed.
Interface:
• Character highlighting when mouseover in awakening scene before the area is loaded is fixed.
• Ivy model displaying, her appearance and dispersion SFX enhanced.
Mechanics:
• Dropped item vanishing bug amended.
• Drones waypoint mechanics amended to prevent jams.
• Navigation AI reworked to prevent creatures freezing and teleports.
FEATURES & CHANGES:
Audio:
• Suspense/danger music theme for the relevant cut-scenes added.
Gameplay:
• Quests added on Science Facility level.
• Ivy model with animations added.
• Special Facility full gameplay walkthrough added.
• Science Facility full gameplay walkthrough added.
• Broken neon lamp flickering at Ground Level added.
• Decontamination Hall cut-scene added.
• Dialog Mechanics tutorial added.
• Running and burning in plasma death animations and SFX added.
Graphics:
• Broken lightning mechanics (lights/flickering vfx/sound) for the Mess Hall added. • Bleeding and blood trails VFX and mechanics added for the alive creatures (including the character) when they are below 10% HP.
Interface:
• Saving/Loading UI added.
• Added text scrolling by mouse wheel in dialogs.
• Mouse icon changing when mouseover icons of new unread/updated Quest and Records added.
• Container UI mechanics enhanced so that players could take items separately (now while the Container Contents Panel is opened BUT the Inventory panel is closed, LMB click on an item will move that item stack into the Inventory instantly).
Mechanics:
• Saving/Loading mechanics added.
Other:
• Kitchen props created and added at the Mess Hall.
• Destroyed and functional drones added at the proper places on Ground Level.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
#1 Guys, during your walkthrough tests please pay attention to drones’ behavior. It took about 4 weeks to rework it so that they don’t freeze and don’t make a jam. Though, I have a suspicion that they might do that again despite our efforts, but we ourselves did not see that bug after the patch.
#2 Previous saved games may not be compatible with this patch (and future ones). This is inevitable for EA and will proceed till the full game release. Nevertheless, the ability to save/load games within every update should save a lot of time for testing and polishing the game. We’ve been testing save/load mechanics for one week only, so, please, if you have time test it more and report about the possible bugs.
SUMMER REPORT: CURRENT WORKS, MONEY, PLANS
• Well, what’s the skinny?
• What about the money?
• Plans for the Fall-Winter 2016.
• The Daedalus.
• After Reset fans’ community.
• After Reset RPG further development.
• Steam Reviews.
• (preview) Developing AR RPG, the Prologue: Debriefing.
• (preview) Developing After Reset: Tips, Insights for Indie Devs.
Read the full update available on Kickstarter...
They are NDA as well yet because they are meant to be published at the day of the prologue release. Though, I would like to share them with you asap as the earlier reviewers. Please, feel free to post your relevant comments, questions and thought on their pages.
Sincerely,
Richard.
Add us on Steam Early Access.
Visit After Reset RPG official Store.
Join After Reset RPG official website.
Hi, guys!
This monthly news and update should be the last one before the Prologue release. If you're our backer or Co-Founder, please, read the full version of it on Kickstarter which comprises the usual patch notes and most of the NDA-stuff I’ve shared with Co-Founders on the forum after the previous update.
This NDA material includes:
• Our current state of affairs.
• Money and issues results report.
• Our plan for the prologue release.
• The future of the After Reset development.
• Preview of the article "Developing AR RPG, the Prologue: Debriefing" I’d like to post it after the Prologue release in October.
• Preview of the article "Developing After Reset: Tips, Insights for Indie Devs" another article specified for indie developers. It consists of concise data on the common issues we and our colleagues faced during the development, our conclusion and solutions we applied. Those issues are something that all indie devs must meet and have to deal with at one time or another.
Right after the Co-Founders, I’d like to share all that data with you before it is made open public to receive your feedback, impressions, thoughts and advice (in case you have one) before making another solid step.
PATCH #100816 RELEASED
FIXES:
Audio:
• Not ceasing music during loading new areas scenes bug fixed.
Gameplay:
• The door scripts and mechanics reworked.
• Navemesh at Ground Level fixed.
• Quanton now opens all fields and doors at the emergency exit hall on Special Facility level when the relevant dialog line is reached.
• Quanton cut-scene variables saving bug fixed.
Interface:
• Character highlighting when mouseover in awakening scene before the area is loaded is fixed.
• Ivy model displaying, her appearance and dispersion SFX enhanced.
Mechanics:
• Dropped item vanishing bug amended.
• Drones waypoint mechanics amended to prevent jams.
• Navigation AI reworked to prevent creatures freezing and teleports.
FEATURES & CHANGES:
Audio:
• Suspense/danger music theme for the relevant cut-scenes added.
Gameplay:
• Quests added on Science Facility level.
• Ivy model with animations added.
• Special Facility full gameplay walkthrough added.
• Science Facility full gameplay walkthrough added.
• Broken neon lamp flickering at Ground Level added.
• Decontamination Hall cut-scene added.
• Dialog Mechanics tutorial added.
• Running and burning in plasma death animations and SFX added.
Graphics:
• Broken lightning mechanics (lights/flickering vfx/sound) for the Mess Hall added. • Bleeding and blood trails VFX and mechanics added for the alive creatures (including the character) when they are below 10% HP.
Interface:
• Saving/Loading UI added.
• Added text scrolling by mouse wheel in dialogs.
• Mouse icon changing when mouseover icons of new unread/updated Quest and Records added.
• Container UI mechanics enhanced so that players could take items separately (now while the Container Contents Panel is opened BUT the Inventory panel is closed, LMB click on an item will move that item stack into the Inventory instantly).
Mechanics:
• Saving/Loading mechanics added.
Other:
• Kitchen props created and added at the Mess Hall.
• Destroyed and functional drones added at the proper places on Ground Level.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
#1 Guys, during your walkthrough tests please pay attention to drones’ behavior. It took about 4 weeks to rework it so that they don’t freeze and don’t make a jam. Though, I have a suspicion that they might do that again despite our efforts, but we ourselves did not see that bug after the patch.
#2 Previous saved games may not be compatible with this patch (and future ones). This is inevitable for EA and will proceed till the full game release. Nevertheless, the ability to save/load games within every update should save a lot of time for testing and polishing the game. We’ve been testing save/load mechanics for one week only, so, please, if you have time test it more and report about the possible bugs.
SUMMER REPORT: CURRENT WORKS, MONEY, PLANS
• Well, what’s the skinny?
• What about the money?
• Plans for the Fall-Winter 2016.
• The Daedalus.
• After Reset fans’ community.
• After Reset RPG further development.
• Steam Reviews.
• (preview) Developing AR RPG, the Prologue: Debriefing.
• (preview) Developing After Reset: Tips, Insights for Indie Devs.
Read the full update available on Kickstarter...
They are NDA as well yet because they are meant to be published at the day of the prologue release. Though, I would like to share them with you asap as the earlier reviewers. Please, feel free to post your relevant comments, questions and thought on their pages.
Sincerely,
Richard.
Add us on Steam Early Access.
Visit After Reset RPG official Store.
Join After Reset RPG official website.
Dr Fallout
Centurion
By the way, are you going to make a post detailing the factions of the apocalypse or did that already happen and I'm blind?
MrNixon
It Wandered In From the Wastes
Here, mate, the lore for all major factions of the game: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=15.
Dr Fallout
Centurion
Thanks! So far I really like the Indian Alliance, mainly because I find it interesting that native Americans follow Aztec (even Toltec) traditions. That's a very interesting choice, though I do find it unlikely that a bunch of Plain Indians (That's the feeling I get, though it does say that these people come from extremely diminished or even destroyed tribes) would follow a culture that's been dead or at least extremely diminished since the 16th/17th century. Not to forget how these people got to a meaningful amounts of people... well, I'm interested to see that explanation in game!
joevonzombie
Buried alive in Golgotha
50 bucks for an early access game is inexcusable. You guys are shooting yourselves in the foot at that price point.
Mr Fish
Slippy sloppy, The
Dr Fallout
Centurion
Then don't buy it until it's finished. As I'm not paying anything I'm not in any hurry.
joevonzombie
Buried alive in Golgotha
Without EA sales, the game likely won't be finished. They need to find a nice middle ground. The current price point will turn folks away. The Age of Decadence is cheaper and is a full release.
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Dr Fallout
Centurion
True, which is a shame. I want to see another sci-fi rpg rather then the dime a dozen fantasy ones.
MrNixon
It Wandered In From the Wastes
While After Reset RPG takes place in a real-time environment, we are careful to keep the combat system from becoming a "click-fest", where the player with the fastest reflexes wins. Instead, combat involves a multi-layered approach in the same way it was in Neverwinter Nights and Knights Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
The base layer consists of a single-click combat system, in which clicking an opponent initiates combat and characters repeat basic attack actions until either the target is slain or another action is assigned (by the player).
The second layer consists of a queued combat system, in which special combat actions (such as switching weapon modes, using an item, fleeing or flanking, etc.) are entered into an action queue and one of these is performed with each attack until the queue is empty, at which point the character reverts back to basic attacks.
INITIATIVE
An initiative roll is made whenever a character enters combat or is the recipient of an offensive ability (such as Ultrasonic Wave) or an item (such as grenades). This roll is used to determine the order in which creatures act in combat, which is of great importance in common pencil-and-paper games. In After Reset RPG, this roll is used to determine the order of priority of attacks conduction when multiple combat participant must act at the same step. Due to combat rounds are defined by creature, Initiative rolls are getting high importance for such situations like melee vs melee or ranged vs ranged.
The roll is a D20 plus the character's current Agility modifier, plus bonuses from feats.
This roll is performed once when combat starts, then is remembered for as long as the creature remains in combat. Whenever multiple creatures attempt to act simultaneously, their actions are taken sequentially instead, going in order from the highest to the lowest initiative roll.
Initiative is also very useful in low level environments where characters have only one or two Attacks-per-Round and a low number of hit points, in which case avoiding any attack may be the crucial frontier between life and death.
COMBAT ROUND
A round is an in-game unit of time that lasts six seconds and comprises 12 steps (0,5 second per each step). In addition to being a general unit of time (such as for the duration of effects), a round is the basic reference time interval for combat.
Combat rounds are defined per creature rather than being global throughout the area (or even throughout a combat). Each creature's individual combat round is started the moment it engage an attack (melee or ranged) or uses an offensive item. (Using Skills usually does not start a combat round.)
ATTACKS-PER-ROUND
The term Attacks-per-Round (APR) refers to how many attacks a creature is able to make during a round (6 seconds). The Base Attacks-per-Round is determined by the creature's Base Attack Bonus (BAB).
Even though BAB continue to increase at higher levels and it might be increased by switching weapon modes or by various feats and effects, - each creature might have up to 12 attacks as the maximum, including Attacks of Opportunity.
ATTACKS OF OPPORTUNITY
An attack of opportunity (AoO) is a single (per round) free attack that is automatically taken when an enemy makes themselves vulnerable, such as moving in combat or using an item or skill. This can only be made when the attacker is unarmed or wielding a melee weapon. Making an attack of opportunity will cancel other actions, such as using an item or skill.
The situations that provoke an attack of opportunity are:
- drinking/eating a consumable item (water, food, drugs, etc.);
- using skills,
- firing a ranged weapon (except for 1-handed ranged weapons with proper CQB feats training) in melee;
- running while in melee range.